Thursday 23 April 2009

Harvard Medical School Prostate Disease Website Guide(New April 2009)

I'll try and explain tonight why I have put this news in a post of it's own:

Lets get one thing put right,the PSA test will be here for at least the next ten years-fact! The reason being that the PSA test along with the DRE are and will be over said time frame the only cost effective tests to catch PC early IE Initial tests!

The main issue from my research is this wording "PSA screening" and especially in the USA.

From my research into the USA regarding this issue and what has become blatantly clear over the last few years is that the USA have been under a misconception (generally) that the PSA test is a direct test for Prostate Cancer (PC) which has led to unnecessary invasive treatments and being the USA you could conclude that this was money driven! (Ed-Steady there,Mick).

Continued after point 3:





1.Harvard Medical School Prostate Disease Website Guides Patients Through Decision-Making Process

Harvard Medical School today announced the launch of a new website to help men with prostate cancer and other prostate conditions understand the issues related to their condition and make smart, well-informed decisions regarding treatment. The website, http://www.harvardprostateknowledge.org/ , was created by Dr. Marc Garnick, an internationally renowned expert in medical oncology and urologic cancer. This website is especially timely given all of the recent discussion on prostate disease and the complex information that men and their families have to sort through.

The site draws upon the expertise of the extensive medical staff within Harvard Medical School and its teaching hospitals, as well as that of international thought leaders on prostate disease. It includes interviews and group discussions with faculty experts and first-hand accounts from patients and their families. The website also features video and interactive tools and will be updated regularly.

Harvard Medical School Prostate Disease Website Guides Patients Through Decision-Making Process USA-23rd April





2.Welcome! This Web site combines prostate cancer news, expert commentary, relevant clinical findings, updates on important prostate cancer research, and personal case histories to help you fully understand the important considerations in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the prostate. We hope you find it useful.
Prostate Knowledge USA-23rd April


3.Lets have a look at what Harvard are saying about the PSA test:

What you should know about PSA screening

Prostate cancer is extremely common, yet only 3% to 4% of men die of it.


Screening doesn’t lower your risk of having prostate cancer;it increases the chance you’ll find out you have it.

PSA testing can detect early-stage cancers that a digital rectal examination (DRE) would miss.

A normal PSA level of 4 ng/ml or below doesn’t guarantee that you are cancer-free.

A high PSA level may prompt you to seek treatment resulting in possible urinary and sexual side effects.

Other conditions, like BPH and prostatitis, can also elevate your PSA level.
What you should know about PSA screening


Now,this relates to Mediwatch and PSAwatch directly-First of all it's all very well that......forgot it's name.........Provenge vaccine maybe fast tracked through the FDA approval route but this is to add extra time once PC is diagnosed IE late stage (and i'm not knocking this in any shape or form) but what about PSAwatch which has the ability to carry out the PSA test with results in ten minutes at a cost saving so more tests can be carried out to an individual and so get a better picture and therefore make a better decision before 'diving in with the knife'! ?

Getting back to the initial point in that the PSA test along with the DRE are the only initial cost effective tests available for the possible detection of PC.Testing does not cause problems and more frequent testing can only be beneficial to enable the correct decision to be made from the start which may involve a PCA3 test even before a Biopsy!

With PC an individual needs to know the negatives and positives before embarking on the initial testing route and this over the last few years has been the case with the USA playing catch-up from what I can gather but just my view!

Regarding Mediwatch and PSAwatch it doesn't really matter if you call it a National Screening Program or making the public more aware in getting checked but with the +/- of the initial tests explained to enable a more informed decision...........that goes for the GP too!!!!

I will probably edit the above tomorrow night as it was a bit rushed!

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